I hadn’t visited the aftermath last time – I had left when the beheadings began, sickened by them, and had been outside the northern gate when Alduin had appeared, at which point I had run as far away as I could.

 

It was like nothing I had seen before. No, I take that back – it was exactly like all of Skyrim had looked just before the Great Reset; so much death and destruction. Blackened bodies lay everywhere. Some had clearly been trying to run, some were huddled in useless protective balls around others, some had just given up and stood in place while their lives were burned away.

 

It was difficult to believe anyone could have survived, but some few had, including, I was heartened to see, the boy who had tipped me off in the first place. He was latched onto what I assumed was the man, and both were crying over a body that was more ash than corpse, and whom I could only assume was the boy’s mother. I left them alone and carried on.

 

There were a few others, but I saw no signs of Kellan, and my heart grew heavier with each passing moment. At last, having made the full circuit, from ruined district to ruined district, I arrived back at the western gate and let out a breath.

 

“That was quite the sigh,” said a familiar voice, and I turned to find Kellan. His face was covered with soot and he had burns up his entire left side, but he was there, gripping a sack over one shoulder and grinning like a maniac. I shouted and launched myself into his arms.

 

Then dropped back as he yelped in pain as I had slammed into some of the burned parts of his body.

 

“Sorry!” I said, wincing, but he just laughed, wrapped me up in his good arm, and held me close.

 

“Nay, there is never a need to say sorry to me. It is only a burn – I’ll heal. If it wasn’t for you, I’d be dead.”

 

I sniffed as I clung (gingerly) to him. “I thought you were going to stay and watch.”

 

“Well, that was the plan. But I remembered what you told me – you described the place just as it was. And I saw the desperation in your eyes. I was nearly too late, even at that – the thing dropped out of the sky and started blazing the place up just as I turned – half a second sooner, he would have caught me full on.” A pause. “I’m…sorry I spoke to you so. I didn’t mean it.”

 

“I know.” I sniffed as I detached myself and gave him the best smile I could manage in the circumstances. “I don’t blame you – up to this point, listening to me has led only to trouble.”

He laughed then winced and grabbed at his wounds. “Ah. Don’t make me laugh. It hurts too much.”

 

“I’ll endeavor to be funny as little as possible.”

 

He laughed again, then bit it off with a yelp. “Dammit, woman.” A sigh. “Well, where to next?”

 

I raised my eyebrows, since I never could manage to raise just one. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you’ve been proven right – the dragon showed up, just as you said. So now what?”

 

“Didn’t we just discuss the repercussions of listening to me?”

 

“That was before I knew you could see the future.”

 

“Fair enough. Ummm…” My brain scrambled into a quick recalibration. What had come next? Whiterun, Balgruff and his wizard, who had sent me to… “Bleak Falls Barrow.”

 

“What about it?”

“That’s where we’re going next.”

 

A pause.

 

“Why?”

 

“Because it has a map in it. Well, I found out it was a map later when I talked to Delphine…” I froze as a cold wave of fear washed over me. Delphine had been in Helgen just yesterday. I should have talked to her after all, to warn her! If she had died…

 

I shook my head. If anyone (else) could escape from a dragon attack, I felt sure it was she. Still, worry nagged at the back of my mind. Maybe a quick stop at Riverwood first, just to make sure…

 

“What happened? Did you remember something else?”

 

“No, just…trying to think. Anyway, the barrow has a map that shows where all the dragon burial grounds are.”

 

“Annnnd that’s important because…”

 

“Because the dragon you just saw is going to start raising all those dead dragons from the dead. Were you even listening when I told you all this?”

 

“I…well, no. Honestly, I didn’t really believe you, so I didn’t pay as close attention as I should have. I know, I’m sorry! In my defense, I was distracted by your variety of clothe…”

 

“ANYway, the barrow also has one of the magic walls that gives me words to shout. So even without the map, we’d need to go there. For that matter,” I added half to myself, “we should probably go into every ruin, cave, and barrow we can find. The Greybeards said there were more…”

 

Kellan cleared his throat. “You know what? This is all a little much for me. I’m tired and really hurt, so why don’t we just take things one at a time? We’ll go to Falkreath…”

 

“Not Falkreath.”

 

“I…okay, Riverwood…”

 

“Marginally better.”

 

“…it’s closer to Bleak Falls anyway, and get some poultices and bandages for my burns then go to your barrow for your map and wall. Then we’ll figure out what comes next.”

 

“I like this plan.” I smiled and laid a hand on his good arm. “I am glad you are with me.”

 

He smiled back, then bent and kissed me. “I won’t leave you again. I swear it.”

 

*******************************

 

Delphine wasn’t at the inn in Riverwood when we passed through but careful poking around gave me the releiving news that she had passed through on her way to Whirerun. With that off my mind, we headed up the hill to the barrow.  

 

The entrance to Bleak Falls was swarming with bandits. I don’t know if this would have been the third place where I would have been killed and/or captured or not – I like to think that even I at my most clueless would have noticed the alarming number of bandits and beat a hasty retreat. They hadn’t been there last time, so I could not explain their presence this time. Kellan and I went through several ridiculous plans, each as far-fetched as the next - my favorite was his suggestion we provoke the giants at the base of the hill on the Whiterun side and kite them to the bandits - until I remembered there was a back door to the fucking place.

 

It took a while to find it – all I remembered was that it was about thirty feet up a cliff face and I had come across the Dibellan priestess just below it. Fortunately, she was there this time as well.

Well, fortunately for our chances of finding the entrance. I would have preferred an alternative because, although I made a point of not talking to her, Kellan turned out to be religious. At least for that night. We stayed at her camp and Kellan….well, he did some worshipping while I pretended not to care.

 

The next morning, I told him, when he asked, that I was acting distant because I was focusing on trying to remember where to go (which was not completely untrue) and tried to radiate no jealousy as hard as I could because I did believe him when he said it was just the way to worship Dibella. Who would know better than I the ways of Dibellan worship? Lord (well, Molag Bal, anyway) knew I had done plenty of it myself. Okay, I had not actually been all that present for any of it and I only remembered bits of it. Point is, ritual sex is a valid form of worship in Skyrim, so I had no ground on which to voice my displeasure.

 

We finally found the spot on the mountain wall and, after much cursing and scrabbling, made it to the cave where I had made my stumbling pained exit last time. I shuddered as the memory of that nasty dead dick came back to mind (and shuddered again now while writing this) but girded up my rug and stepped in.

 

It was all much less dramatic than last time. The only trouble we had was opening the secret door to the place, but both Kellan and I had been in similar places before. The trick to these places is knowing there is a secret door – once you know that (and where, exactly, it is), it is not too difficult to find the way to open it.

 

Instead of waiting for the large draugr to pop out of its coffin, we forced off the lid and hacked at it. It died (again) before it had a chance to move more than an inch. Kellan gathered the map, which was still there, gave me a very odd glance when I chopped off the thing's dick, dropped it on the floor, and jumped up and down on it until it was nothing but a grimy smear, then started to examine the creature’s battleaxe as I took a deep breath and walked toward the smooth-faced concave wall.

 

It was just as I remembered – a wind from nowhere brushed around me, I heard voices whispering, then chanting, a bright light shone from the wall, and…

 

…too late, I remembered the other thing that happened. I got out, “Oh shi…” before the orgasm swept me away from my senses. When my senses and I had made our sheepish way back together, I found myself staring up at a very surprised Kellan.

 

“Um…that was really…something.” He gulped, and I could see he was sweating and flushed. “Does…does that happen every time?”

 

I sighed as I sat up, and he reached out a hand. I paused but then let him help me to my feet. “Yes. At these walls and when I take dragon souls. I forgot about that part.”

 

“I don’t see how. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.”

 

“Pervert.”

 

“I do not deny it. Are you all right? Do you need me to…”

 

I glanced at his pants, where his engorged status was obvious despite the chain armor covering the area. I sighed. “I guess.”

 

To be honest, I acted as if I was doing him a favor, but I really needed it as well. Maybe it was something about the orgasms from nowhere, maybe it was just some attempt to wash away the memory of the other dick I had received there. I’m not sure. All I know is, we stripped and he carried me to the wall and pressed me against it while he shoved his length into me, and we came together in what was possibly the most fulfilling moment I had ever experienced.

 

Don’t feed the bastards. Feed yourself instead.

 

 

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